This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies of Toronto Star content for distribution to colleagues, clients or customers, or inquire about permissions/licensing, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com

Several hundred turned up for a “party” to celebrate the death of Margaret Thatcher. However, the mass protest predicted by some failed to materialize.

A woman cheers during a an anti-Thatcher party in Trafalgar Square in central London on April 13, 2013. "Parties" staged by opponents of late British former prime minister Margaret Thatcher to celebrate her death took place in several locations across the UK. (BEN STANSALL / AFP/GETTY IMAGES)

A huge puppet depicting former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher is seen during a party organized by political foes in Trafalgar Square to mark her death. (Lefteris Pitarakis / The Associated Press)

Revellers hold up a banner as they join an outdoor party celebrating the death of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher at Trafalgar Square. (CHRIS HELGREN / REUTERS)

By Maria GolovninaReuters

Sat., April 13, 2013

LONDON—Several hundred people turned up for a “party” in central London on Saturday to celebrate the death of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher but the mass protest predicted by some failed to materialize.

The mayor of the British capital had warned of potential rioting as organizers promised thousands of opponents of Thatcher, who died aged 87 on Monday, would descend on London’s Trafalgar Square to mark the passing of a leader who was loved and loathed in equal measure.

Current British politicians and world leaders past and present have paid tributes to Thatcher, Britain’s longest serving prime minister in over a century, but she continues to divide Britons over policies which saw her crush trade unions and privatize swathes of industry.

The event, which had been planned by left-wing activists decades ago for her eventual death, had been billed as “the party of a lifetime.”

But in the cold and the rain, it attracted only several hundred jovial and noisy supporters, chanting “Maggie, Maggie, Maggie, dead, dead, dead”. Some danced to drums and loud dance music, waving banners bearing messages such as “Rot in hell Thatcher.”

Article Continued Below

Others held up an effigy of Thatcher, complete with light blue suit and handbag, cracked open bottles of champagne and burnt a mannequin head, shouting “burn, Maggie, burn.”

“I’ve been waiting to celebrate this for 30 years. Best day of my life,” said Simon Gardner, a wildlife photographer from central England wearing a top on which “Rejoice, Rejoice, Thatcher is dead” was written. “She was hated by at least half the population.”

There were almost as many police and security personnel visibly present, and a police officer at the scene said they had expected a far bigger turnout.

Some protesters burned flares and threw beer cans at police lines but apart from a few brief and minor scuffles, the protest was largely peaceful with nine arrests mainly for drunk and disorderly behaviour.

Since her death, many of the divisions which characterized her time in office from 1979 to 1990 have resurfaced, as delineated in a ComRes poll for two Sunday newspapers.

It found 41 per cent of those surveyed disagreed with Prime Minister David Cameron’s description of her as the “greatest British peacetime prime minister.” Thirty-three 33 per cent agreed with the sentiment.

Some 59 per cent agreed she was the most divisive prime minister the country ever had, while 60 per cent thought Wednesday’s ceremonial funeral with military honours, which commentators have estimated will cost about £10 million, should not be funded by taxpayers.

Code-named “Operation True Blue,” the streets will be cleared as Thatcher’s coffin is taken on a procession through central London to a service at Saint Paul’s Cathedral.

Opponents have denounced the plans, and there are concerns that anti-capitalist activists and anarchists with a long record of violent protest may try to disrupt the funeral.

“My mother once said to me, ‘Carol, I think my place in history is assured’,” Thatcher’s daughter Carol told reporters outside her mother’s former home in central London.

“The magnificent tributes this week, the wonderful words of (U.S.) President (Barack) Obama, to others from colleagues who once worked alongside her, have proved her right.

“These have given me strength. But I know that this is going to be a tough and tearful week even for the daughter of the ‘Iron Lady.’ ”

Meanwhile, the song “Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead,” from the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, is expected to enter the pop charts Sunday following a campaign by those celebrating Thatcher’s death.

More from the Toronto Star & Partners

LOADING

Copyright owned or licensed by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or distribution of this content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited and/or its licensors. To order copies of Toronto Star articles, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com